


The Former Sith Lord Among Us

by LenoraLana



Category: Knights of the Old Republic - Fandom
Genre: Sarin Jast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22906036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoraLana/pseuds/LenoraLana
Summary: Another fic I once posted many years ago on KotorFanMedia under the name Walruseater. Sarin Jast gets injured on a mission and gets treated by Jolee, then gets scolded by Bastila just to turn around and tease her. Simply a quiet little time in-between missions aboard the Ebon Hawk.
Kudos: 3





	The Former Sith Lord Among Us

"Now, where oh where did I put my whatcha call it…?" Jolee stroked his chin thoughtfully as he moved around in the tiny med bay.

Sarin Jast wasn't making a sound, yet Jolee suddenly barked at her, "Stop laughing, kid!"

Sarin looked both puzzled and baffled. "I'm not laughing!" she exclaimed.

"Not on the outside," Jolee said. "You seem to forget I'm a Jedi. Not surprising, really, seeing how absent-minded you can get sometimes. You may not be laughing on the outside, but inside, you're cracking up."

Sarin looked away as laughter escaped through her nose in sort of a snuffling chuckle.

"There, now at least you're being honest about it!" Jolee said, then sighed resignedly.

Sarin raised her eyebrows mockingly. "You say I'm absent-minded, and you can't even remember the name of what you're looking for, or where it is?"

"Watch your mouth," Jolee said. "Ah, there we go. I found the darned thing. Now, just lay back on that bed and keep still!"

They were both in the medical bay, which was probably the smallest area in the Ebon Hawk. It was a good thing none of the crew were claustrophobic; everyone had been injured at one point or another on their journey, and in such a small room as this, one could feel like the walls were closing in on them.

Well, it wasn't that bad with the door open. The darned thing refused to budge anyway, so it stayed open. Hopefully they would never need to close it for any reason.

"Come on, Jolee," Sarin sighed impatiently, "can't you just give me a medpac? I can take care of myself—"

Jolee shook a finger at her. "No you don't, kid. You've got a nasty blaster wound, and I'm going to take care of it here and now, even if I have to sedate you." He shook his head, sighing. "Besides, I did tell you that the best alternative to a medpac is not to get hurt in the first place!"

Sarin was staring at the opposite wall, twiddling her thumbs. She had obviously heard what he had said, though she wasn't giving him her full attention.

Jolee rolled his eyes. Damn kid, he thought. "How did this happen, anyway?" he asked as he began to treat her injuries.

Sarin shrugged casually. She vaguely recited the chain of events that happened on Tatooine, starting with how she acquired a hunting license from the Czerka office, and how she had learned of a droid that could translate the Sand People language…

"Hmph, I ran into that loud-mouthed mechanism in the cargo hold," Jolee interjected at that point. "The way it mouths off, I'm half surprised you weren't the one who built it!"

Ignoring him, Sarin then told how she had managed to acquire some clothing off the bodies of Sand People who had attacked her, and she had slain. Anxious to get on with this, she and Carth had put on the clothing and, with HK-47 following closely, they had approached a sand crawler they saw in the distance. Upon seeing them in their disguises, the men there opened fire, thinking them to be Sand People.

"Ah, so that's how you got hurt," Jolee said, then made a tsk-tsk sound. "How did that go?"

"Carth and I ripped our head garments off," Sarin said. "We were able to explain what we were up too, and the captain there wished us luck, telling us to be careful."

"Well, maybe this will teach you to be more careful," Jolee said. "There, that should hold you. Just be careful when walking, for the next day or so. That blaster seems to have singed your left thigh rather well."

"Thanks," Sarin said grudgingly.

"You're welcome," Jolee muttered under his breath after she left the med bay. "I wonder how soon she'll be back in here, with worse?" he mused out loud, shaking his head to himself.

"Okay," Sarin said aloud in the cockpit, looking at the navigational computer. "Kashyyyk and Tatooine down, Manaan and Korriban left to go. Which one shall we travel too next?"

Bastila regarded her with mild disapproval. Did she have to treat everything like a game, in the same manner that she insisted on joking about serious matters? Right now, the former Sith Lord looked almost as though she might try the "eenie-meenie-miny-moe" technique.

Bastila sighed. Maybe she should take Sarin's advice and "lighten up", at least a little. It was just so difficult at times, being the only person onboard who knew about Sarin's true identity, and keeping it secret. That seemed especially hard sometimes, due to the bond she shared with the former Sith Lord.

Well, maybe she wasn't the only one who knew. Jolee, who seemed rather knowledgeable about the ongoings in other places, despite his long seclusion on Kashyyyk, almost seemed as though he knew. Or at least, he seemed to suspect something. There didn't seem to be much that one could hide from the old man.

Perhaps, if things had gone differently in the past, Jolee himself could have been a master…

Her thoughts returned to her present surroundings at the sound of Carth's chuckle. She gaped slightly at the sight of Sarin moving her finger in a circle around in front of the navigational panel on the wall.

Outraged, Bastila placed her hands on her hips and snapped, "Can't you be serious for more than two minutes? You can't, can you? You always have to turn everything into a game! Is your own amusement more important than this mission? The fate of the galaxy is at stake, and you're—"

She stopped. Carth had a look of startled surprise on his face, and looked like he was about to say something.

"Fine," Sarin said, "we're going to Korriban. I've heard that it's not the greatest vacation spot in the galaxy, but it should be more cheerful than this place." She looked directly at Bastila. "With the present company, that is." With that, she turned and began to walk away.

"Sarin—wait!" Bastila sighed. That hadn't been fair, and she knew it. She was under a lot of stress, but that wasn't any reason to take it out on Sarin. Or to act like her mother, for that matter. "I'm sorry," she said.

Sarin merely nodded. "Apology accepted," she said coolly, then started to resume her departure.

"Sarin!" Bastila said. "Please, listen to what I have to say."

Sarin turned back to face her, leaning casually against the wall, arms folded. The cool look on her face, as well as her body language, said "Okay, I'm listening, but I'm not going to put up with any more bossiness", or something akin to that, anyway.

Bastila swallowed, choosing her words carefully before speaking. Part of her ached to tell Sarin who she really was. This wasn't fair, keeping it a secret. It almost felt as though they were using this person. But, as the Council had pointed out, there had been no other choice…

"I just wanted to say that… I've come to depend on you, and I want you to know how much I respect and admire you," Bastila said. "You have stayed true to the path of light. You… you have done well."

The look on Sarin's face spoke volumes. "Was that a compliment, from you?" she asked, sounding stunned.

"Well, yes, surely that isn't so surprising," Bastila said, slightly indignant.

Sarin brushed her hair away from her ear. "I think I'm going deaf…"

"Why must you make this so difficult! Can't you just accept a simple compliment?" Bastila snapped.

Sarin grunted. "Maybe I was just distracted by the grudging manner in which you gave it."

Bastila sighed. "I know that I have been harsh… it's just that I've spent my entire life being hounded by my instructors, being told about how important and special I was until I was sick of it. It's ironic, really. I had promised myself that I would not become as stodgy and self-absorbed as the masters." She shook her head wistfully. "Is there any way I can make it up to you? I would prefer we be friends…"

Sarin pursed her lips, stroking her chin lightly, as though thinking it over. She cocked her head back and forth, then nodded. "I'd like that, I guess," she said.

"Well," Bastila smiled, "that wasn't so hard as I thought."

"I've already accepted one apology earlier today," Sarin said, glancing indicatively in Carth's direction. "And, by the way," she said, directing her comment at the Republic officer, "you've been watching me very closely lately, you know that?"

Bastila slipped back into the copilot's seat, choosing to stay out of this one entirely.

"Oh, uh, I hadn't thought you'd noticed," Carth said, sounding startled.

Sarin looked offended. "I'm blind, am I?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Carth said defensively.

"Oh, I get it, now you think I'm stupid," Sarin miffed.

"Dammit, woman, if you keep hounding me, I'm going to put you over my knee and teach you lesson," Carth said.

In spite of herself, Bastila found herself repressing a chuckle at the thought. Sure, Carth had been a solider for many years, and was literally one of the best in the Republic fleet, and he was taller and more muscular than Sarin. But the mere thought of even him putting a Jedi over his knee was simply laughable.

Maybe she was finally managing to lighten up, a little…

"Is that a promise?" Sarin asked coyly.

"Oh no, I'm not even going there, sister," Carth said. "At any rate, I haven't been ogling you, I've just been admiring you. Not that all I do is watch you or anything—I didn't mean anything by it."

Sarin raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Any other observations?"

"Maybe a few, but I hope you don't mind if I keep those to myself. Anyway… well, I've apologized once already, but I haven't asked you to forgive me, for doubting you. I've just gotten so used to expecting the worst out of others and… well, you've done nothing to deserve that."

"Why would you need my forgiveness?" Sarin asked.

"Because you're a brave and beautiful woman, and in some ways—good ways—you remind me of my wife, and I want to make things right between us. So, will you forgive me?"

Sarin seemed to melt slightly. "You think I'm beautiful?" she asked.

"I'll take that as a yes," Carth said, and cleared his throat. "Shall we… shall we get underway?" he asked indicatively. He seemed slightly embarrassed now. Perhaps he remembered that they weren't alone in the cockpit…

Sarin beamed, but chose to spare him by turning her attention once again to the nav computer. "Sure thing," she said, punching in the coordinates herself. "Besides, you've got a job to do, pilot," she said, smiling at him.

Carth gratefully slid into the pilot's seat.

The ship went into hyperspace, and Sarin decided to check on the others. T3 was sitting quietly in the common room, and Zaalbar was dwelling there as well.

Juhani appeared to be meditating, though she did glance up and smile at Sarin as she passed. Sarin smiled back, then continued on.

Since going from planet to planet took days, Sarin had just made it a habit of doing her rounds every so often.

As usual, Canderous Ordo was in the cargo bay. When their little entourage had first been thrown together, Sarin often wondered why he chose to claim this area as his hangout spot. But then she figured it out. This was probably the biggest area on the ship, and it was where he could workout if he wanted too, and keep himself in shape.

While she was in there, she did a little bit of tweaking on her bike. It was still installed with the prototype accelerator. Gadon still had the specs, and he had permitted her to keep the bike in exchange for winning the race for the Hidden Beks.

That is, he would still have them if—well, even though it had been many weeks ago now, it was still hard to absorb the fact that Taris, along with all its people, were simply gone. The friends she had made there—everyone from Gadon to the people she had merely passed by on the street—were simply gone.

One might say that this very swoop bike, and perhaps the Ebon Hawk itself, were the only things that remained of Taris. With that in mind, she treated the bike's components with care as she worked on it. It was like a gesture of sentimental wistfulness.

After she finished fiddling with the bike, used the workbench on the opposite side of the room to upgrade a section of her Echani armor. The stuff was lightweight, but fairly durable. Still, if she was going to wear it, she wanted to make sure it was more than just durable.

Mission was in the crew quarters, and had just awoken from a nap. Well, there wasn't much else for the Twi'lek to do while they were in space, so she might as well rest up.

As Sarin passed by the med bay, where Jolee was hanging out for whatever reason, he saw a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he winked at her.

Well, it never took long for word to reach everyone else's ears on this ship. Not with a crew this small. Even though everybody had more or less claimed their own hangout spots on the Ebon Hawk, everyone was still within shouting range of everyone else.

So Jolee had apparently heard the conversation between her and Carth in the cockpit.

Mind your own business, old man, Sarin thought as she passed by the med bay.

Sarin retired in the crew quarters opposite from the one Mission was in. She figured she may as well rest up for a little while. It wasn't like there was much else to do. The Ebon Hawk's computer wasn't exactly full of literature, although she had read the manual on the hyper drive and the computer to kill time.

When they arrived at Korriban, they would have to be extremely careful, Sarin knew. If it really was a Sith planet, like she had heard, they would probably need to use all of their skills combined.

Sure, they were on a mission to find these star maps, and one of the most important things was to avoid detection by the Sith. Yet now they were headed right smack into their midst in order to find one of the star maps. Was the Force trying to tell them something? Or was this merely one of those things in life, where all couldn't be easy?

Well, Sarin figured, it hadn't exactly been easy to get the map on Tatooine or Kashyyyk either. Yet going to Korriban almost sounded like a suicide mission in comparison.

Well, we'll find a way, Sarin thought. We must.

With that, she sat down on the floor, folded her legs, and began to meditate.


End file.
